And so my journey comes to a close. Today’s ride is a short one, ~100km along the M-9 Motorway to Karachi.

I awoke reasonably hungover at 8am, to calls from my concerned hosts. It was time for breakfast at the mess. I had small grain soup and plenty of water to slowly boot up my systems.

Gift ceremony at SLM

At 10AM, the Chinese engineers wanted to have another breakfast, before seeing me off. I fought off more offers for beer and alcohol (great excuse - I’m riding today), was presented with some gifts from the director of operations, and was promptly on my way. In an accompanying car were Usman and Bilal, who were given the day off to take me to Karachi and show me around.

Today’s route in blue

Karachi is a city of birds, gusts of dust, and loose trash. Occasionally, there are very beautiful monuments and parks. Pigeons gather in empty fields, while falcons soar overhead. Pregnant dogs roam the streets, and oxen scavenge informal roadside landfills. Plastic bags, wrappers and dust are blown around by the wind.

Cute drawings of tanks in Karachi

It is not a city for beginners.

And yet it is filled with very kind and generous people who are full of curiosity and care.

Finally at the end!

The first stop was my accommodation, in an area named “DHA Sector 7”. This was a portion of the city administered by the army (the D stands for Defence), with similar sections in many other cities in Pakistan. (Side note: the army plays quite a large role in civilian life, running both residential housing areas, schools, hospitals, and even recreational and tourist sites!).

It was not really to my expectation; the area was rather deserted, the parking was roadside, and the building, while newly built, looked a tad dodgy. Oh well.

After dropping off some laundry, and confirming that there was a watchman to look over my motorcycle (I was surprised to discover that the watchman stands guard outside the building 24/7. He has a bed/chair to nap in, and uses the bathroom of the nearby mosque), I was ready to join Usman, Bilal and our driver to explore the city.

That afternoon, we:

• the tomb of Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and associated museum
• went to the beach (Hawke’s Bay)
• enjoyed some shisha
• had dinner by the sea

Tomb of Muhammed Ali Jinnah

I was surprised by the size of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Cadillac (it’s like MPV sized or bigger), and by the beach.

The Arabian sea at sunset is beautiful, however it was hard to ignore the stray garbage that accumulated on the beach. Littering at this scale in Australia would result in the culprits being crucified, so I was quite astonished and curious about how this comes to be. Do the offenders not mind the view of rubbish, or do they simply not want to take responsibility for the cleanliness of shared spaces? Bilal and Usman reckoned that it was the latter; that they don’t like being around the rubbish, but think it is someone else’s responsibility to clean up after them.

not so nice aspects of the beach

The most surprising part of this experience was that the beach we were at was considered significantly more clean than the other major beach, Clifton. There, there is a stench from the rubbish and direct sewage runoff into the water.

Why was this beach better, was my question. Surely people prefer to be at cleaner beaches, so cleanliness levels would equalise over time? The answer is access; Clifton Beach has direct public transport access and is relatively central, while Hawke’s Bay is 20KM out of the way without low cost access.

Hawke’s Bay Beach

Hawke’s Bay Beach pt 2

A nearby vendor offered to take us out on his speedboat so we enjoyed a quick spin on the calm waters.

Boat ride

Usman and Bilal reviewing boat pics

Dinner was at a popular restaurant, Kolachi. It was built on top of the water at Cliftons, was known for its exceptional service and quality Pakistani food. It was quite the scene when we arrived; lines of cars waited out front, and there was a line with security checks to get in (similar to that of a nightclub).

Kolachi

Standing guard were two armed men wearing almost comical commando outfits and poses, complete with scowls and serious looks(they looked and posed like action figures).

Action man

The food and service were indeed excellent.

Kolachi’s Kitchen

Tomorrow; I will sort out my bike’s shipping and my return to Dubai!

Some stats:

• 103 KM travelled
• 0 coffee consumed
• 0L fuel added
• 6 unique interactions

Part 2 route progress

Complete route to date